A/N: TW for some dark themes.
~Brayden~
The kids returned from the date/movie. They were so tired they all jumped into bed and fell asleep. Except for Brayden. That eighth human was annoying him again. He tried to sleep but he wasn't tired. This didn't happen much, but if it did, he usually did something stupid and made himself tired.
Once he went to Faye's parents' house and he was too excited to sleep. He and Faye ended up sneaking outside and messing around in her backyard until midnight. Brayden fell asleep on a bush. He remembered Faye's parents thinking it was adorable when they found the kids in the morning. They didn't even punish them they thought it was so cute.
Suddenly, the eighth human started acting weird. They started sweating and rolling around and breathing heavily. They sounded terrified. Brayden had never seen them act like this. He wasn't a sleep expert but he didn't have any good feelings.
"Hey," he shook their shoulder. He whisper-shouted, "Stick kid!"
The eighth human suddenly woke up. Their eyes were wide open. They shoved Brayden off the bed, a horrid expression on their face. They shook their head and closed their eyes. Brayden looked at them.
"That actually really hurt," he remarked. The eighth human gazed at him with a frown. They offered him a bandage. "I'm fine. You're really strong for a wimp." He stood up. "You okay? You were freaking out in your sleep."
He felt... actually concerned for them. He wanted to beat them up before, but now...
The eighth human gave him a thumbs up. They rubbed their eyes. No one else seemed to be awake. They stood up and walked over to the bedroom door.
"Where are you goin'?" Brayden asked. "Can I come? I'm bored and I can't sleep."
The eighth human nodded. Brayden grinned and followed them.
The kids left the house without anyone knowing and went outside. The eighth human knew the place really well. Brayden felt like he knew the place as well, somehow. Somehow... he almost felt like he'd been here as well...? He could say that about the Underground in general. Something felt so familiar...
It was still kind of chilly. The eighth human was going towards the forest. They walked across the swaying bridge, admiring the snow-covered trees ahead.
"Where are we going?" Brayden asked. The eighth human shrugged. "Hey, you're really weird, you know?" They shrugged again. "Can you talk? With, y'know, words and stuff?"
They shrugged.
"Can you NOT shrug all the time!?" Brayden snapped.
They shrugged.
Brayden felt impatient. "D'you wanna fight me?!"
They shrugged. They got to the snow poff area. Brayden growled. They were annoying as well as weird. He wanted to beat them up all over again.
"Y'know what!?" Brayden yelled. "SCREW YOU! WE'RE FIGHTING RIGHT NOW! IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN RECOVER MY LOST HONOUR!"
He raised his fists. He tried to punch the eighth human. They dodged effortlessly. He tried again. They dodged, their short, brown hair blowing in the breeze.
"COME ON, LET ME HIT YOU!" He tried again. They dodged, not even moving their arms. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HIT YOU?! WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT BACK!?"
The eighth human winked at him like they did with Papyrus. For some reason it made Brayden blush.
"Uhhh..." Brayden rubbed his red cheeks.
Then the eighth human turned and fled, kicking snow out of their way.
Brayden glared at them. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"
He chased them. Brayden didn't know where they were taking him. They were swerving past trees, leaping over bushes. It seemed they were going deeper into the forest. Wind rushed through their hair. They looked like they were... following somebody? Brayden didn't care. He wasn't going to let them escape.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Brayden yelled, his heart racing.
Or his SOUL? It didn't matter. The eighth human shoved past more trees. Monsters hanging around were giving them strange looks. Brayden was keeping up. He was going to catch them.
Then the eighth human did a 180 and weaved through all the trees again. Brayden was so confused. But he didn't care right now. He needed to stop this kid. He copied them, kicking past all of the white, shiny snow.
They returned to the area with the snow poffs. The eighth human ran onto the wooden bridge. It swayed underneath their weight. Brayden smirked as he approached the bridge. He had them now!
The eighth human slowed their place, taking sly steps on the bridge. Then they stopped at the centre of the bridge. Their arms dropped. They seemed to be staring at something. They looked almost hypnotized.
"HEY!" Brayden yelled.
But the eighth human didn't hear him. They didn't move. Suddenly, their figure hunched. They pulled out a... long, sharp red sword from somewhere and held it high above their head. Brayden wondered where they got that from. It reflected the white, shiny snow. It was rather intimidating.
"Where'd you get that from?" Brayden asked them. He stormed across the bridge. "Can I have one?"
They didn't reply. Their face was shrouded in shadows. Their eyes were glowing, red dots.
Brayden pretended to not be creeped out. "Hey! ARE YOU DEAF?!"
Suddenly, the eighth human brought the sword down. They sliced the bridge in half. There was a shiver. And then the world went downwards.
"WHAT THE HECK!?" Brayden yelled, glaring at the eighth human.
The eighth human stepped back, shaking. The sword disappeared into thin air. They stared at Brayden, twitching. The bridge swung downwards, flying towards the ravine below. It was scarier than any roller-coaster Brayden had been crazy enough to go on. The wind rushed through their hair. Adrenaline raced through their hearts.
The kids held onto the bridge for their very lives. Brayden didn't want to admit it, but that ravine below them was creeping him out. And also, he was about to fall to his death. He yelled out random words, clinging onto the bridge. He didn't want to die yet.
The eighth human put their arm around Brayden's waist and grabbed onto the bridge's loose ropes. They had a surprisingly tight hold. They gazed at the ravine below. Rocks fell down, bouncing on the walls. The sound echoed. Somehow, they didn't look scared at all. Brayden had to be envious of their bravery. They pulled up on the rope with their arms and legs, determination in their closed eyes. Brayden felt... inspired.
"We're getting out of this TOGETHER!" he yelled.
He helped the eighth human climb up the bridge. They made it to safety - a snowy ledge. Luckily, they were on the side of the bridge that led to Snowdin. The eighth human flopped onto the snow and made snow angels. They took a deep breath of relief. Brayden leaped into the air like he just didn't care. Well, actually, he did. He was very relieved.
"YEAH!" Brayden cheered, fist-pumping the air. "We did it!!!"
He stopped smiling and glared at the eighth human. He pinned them down so they couldn't move, like in those wrestling shows he liked to watch.
"YOU'RE SO DEAD! WHAT WERE YOU EVEN DOING?! WERE YOU TRYING TO..." He paused. His voice choked up. "Were you tryna kill us?!"
They shook their head again. The eighth human had a funny expression on their face. Brayden felt annoyed.
It's your fault...
"Then what were you doing?!"
The eighth human looked away.
"... you saw something?" Brayden asked. He frowned. "That's weird. What'd you see?"
The eighth human shook their head.
Brayden growled. "Can't tell? Oh come ON!"
It's sad that I have such a poor son. I thought you were better than that.
"You can do so much crazy stuff, but you can't tell me what you SAW?!" Brayden asked, feeling even more enraged. "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!?" He tried to punch them in the face, but they dodged. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
Brayden felt so sick of all this. He just wanted to be a good son and a good friend... but he still failed. He failed every time. Everyone frowned at him. This eighth human could do everything with a blink of an eye. Everyone respected them. There was something special about them and this world. They were amazing. He wasn't.
It was obvious now. Brayden was jealous of them.
Why don't you go climb up that mountain? It's a better place for you.
Brayden tried not to cry. He just couldn't get respect... or love... no matter how brave he tried to be. Something was always his downfall. Even Faye was beginning to like the eighth human more than him. They were so much better in every way. He couldn't compete with that. His dad was right. He should've climbed up this mountain ages ago.
You are a failure.
Brayden sat down next to them. "I'm sorry... it's just..." He laughed. "Why I can't be BRAVE LIKE YOU?! You're amazing... I... I can never be like you."
The eighth human reached out.
Sorry about the old cringey art y'all...
"I... I... just can't..." Brayden took a deep yet shaky breath. "NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME!"
He punched the snow beside him as hard as he could. His hand felt cold. He wanted to beat himself up. He tried not to cry. The eighth human, suddenly, gave him a big hug. Brayden wasn't always a hug fan. But he could make an exception this one time. He let the eighth human hug him. They were pretty nice after all. They were many things.
Brayden laughed good-naturedly this time. "Thanks. Hey," He stared at them. "I'm sorry 'bout all that stuff before. You're not that bad. You saved me a hundred million times."
He stared at the bridge, then at the ravine. He decided he'd like the eighth human, instead of being a jerk because he was jealous of them. He didn't want to be like those mean kids.
"Guess I've always been a bully, haven't I..." he uttered.
Being the new kid was hard for Brayden. Until he was accepted into some group of 'cool kids' who were 'tough', like him. They liked to pick on 'weaklings'. They told Brayden it was 'cool'. Brayden wanted to be 'cool' - so his dad would stop hating him. Brayden and the 'cool kids' were hanging about in the playground and picking on random kids.
"Dweeb." one member of the 'cool kids' jeered at some kid who fell over. The kid limped away, looking sad.
"These losers all suck, right, Brayden?" another member asked Brayden, grinning.
Brayden nodded. "Heck yeah!"
He didn't really think so. He liked to tease people sometimes, and he liked fighting, but this felt... weird. But it was 'cool', apparently.
Brayden sighed. "I gotta go pee, I'll be back."
The group nodded. So he ran off to the bathrooms. On the way, he ran into the ballet-obsessed teacher's pet, Melody Trust. Her dark hair was in a very neat bun. She was wearing her infamous tutu.
"Brayden Valiance," she greeted him. "Why are you with the bullies?"
"Bullies?" Brayden grumbled. "They're not bullies. They're awesome!"
"They're jerks," Melody told him. "Bad kids. I really think you should ditch them."
"You're just jealous!" Brayden retorted, blowing a raspberry. "You only have one friend! I have TONS!"
"Percy Verance is my best friend, not my only friend," Melody said, frowning. "Look, all I'm saying is those kids you play with aren't really great friends. They're all insecure and they pick on others." She sighed. "Don't you get it, Brayden? They're cowards. If you hang out with them, you're one too."
"You're just tryna scare me!" Brayden yelled, making a face. Part of him, however, wondered if she was right...
"That's not something I do," Melody told him. She sighed. "I'm only warning you. I don't think you're like them - I don't think you're a bully. And, well, bullies suck."
Brayden stared at her for a bit. She walked away, biting her lip. He went to the bathroom and thought about what she said.
She's tricking me, he thought. She's the teacher's pet.
Brayden went back to the others. They were trash-talking him.
"Brayden is a loser, though," one boy scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"He told me he had a girlfriend in his old school." some girl giggled, blushing.
"HEY!" Brayden stormed over. "FAYE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"
"Oh yeah, she is," the girl protested. "You're always talkin' bout her."
The kids giggled. Brayden frowned. He hadn't seen Faye for ages. She'd left his old school ages ago and he never found out why. He missed her. She was really nice.
"Eh, don't worry, new boy," the biggest boy laughed. "Look, we still think you're cool. But we really wanna see what you're made of."
He grinned. Brayden looked up.
"Challenge, huh?" he asked, cracking his knuckles. He didn't back down from a challenge. And he liked proving himself.
"Beat that girl up," the boy pointed at some girl wearing a hoodie. Her face was hidden. She was sitting by herself on the grass. "Give her a bad time. Then you'll be really cool!"
"Cool!? On it!" Brayden yelled, racing over to the girl. He glared at her. "HEY! YOU!" She didn't respond. "Look at me!" She looked at him with grey eyes. She looked really sad. Brayden almost flinched. He got a bad feeling from this.
"I'm gonna beat the heck outta you!" he growled.
"Sure, okay." she said.
She sounded like she'd given up on everything. Brayden almost felt bad for her. He didn't really want to hurt her. She looked so sad. But what about his friends? He wanted to be 'cool', just like them. He scowled.
"I will not back down!" he yelled.
He clenched his gloved fists. The girl didn't looked scared at all. She just sat there, almost smiling. It was weird. People usually ran away or fought back. She wasn't doing anything. Brayden didn't like that very much. This felt so wrong. Brayden looked back at his 'friends'. They were giving him encouraging grins. He looked back at the girl. She still looked so... down.
"NO!" Brayden yelled at himself. "I'M GONNA DO THIS!"
He finally managed to punch the girl in the chest. He felt really awful after it, like he'd just killed someone. Why did he feel like this? He hated it so much. The girl didn't have anything to say about it. Brayden pushed her onto the ground as one final act of... he didn't know anymore.
"Hey," Brayden said.
He stared at the girl. She was just sitting there. Almost like Faye.
"Everyone hates me," she said dreamily. "I get it."
"I don't hate you!" Brayden argued. "I was tryna be cool like my friends!" She didn't reply. "Fight back next time, okay?! DOING NOTHING ISN'T HOW YOU FIGHT!"
He walked off. That was the last time he saw her.
Brayden gritted his teeth, eyes watering. He stared at his fists... the fists that had hurt the girl.
"You beat her up... If you hadn't done that..."
"You pathetic failure... just go on and climb up that mountain, where you won't bother anyone else."
"Melody..." Brayden's voice croaked.
"You ditched them," Melody said, sitting next to Brayden. "You did the right thing."
"I'm a bully," Brayden looked away. "I don't deserve any friends..."
"Not true," Melody replied. She stood up, smiling. "How about you play with Percy and me?"
"And that's how we became friends." Brayden concluded.
The eighth human clapped with tears in their closed eyes. They started crying a little.
"Thanks," Brayden sighed. "I'm still mad about it, so... y'know... I try to stop bullying these days. Well, I mean I reallyyy TRY. Guess I'm not the best at it yet."
He sighed. The eighth human wasn't that bad. They weren't an enemy. They were just a smart, kind and brave child trying to help. Brayden hoped he could be more like them.
"SO MUCH TALKING! GAHH!" He stared at the eighth human, nudging them with his elbow. "Well, that was all about me. What's your deal? How about that nightmare you had?"
The eighth human shivered like they were seeing something. They shook their head and stood up. For once, they looked cold. Or even worse. They gave Brayden a sad expression.
"OH COME ON! YOU CAN TELL ME ONE THING!" Brayden spat, going up to them. They walked away. "HEY! I WON'T TELL ANYONE! I PROMISE!"
He nagged them all the way back to Sans and Papyrus' house. They didn't budge.
He knew in the end he had to be brave for others, like they were. And dang, he was going to try his hardest, just as determined as the eighth human themself.
When they both returned to the house, Brayden and the eighth human flopped onto the bed. Brayden fell asleep instantly, hugging both Faye and the eighth human.